Summer spotlight on reading at central Ohio schools

Classes run farther into the summer in many schools and are more challenging. There’s a new focus on testing students more often to track their progress.

In a revamped summer school in the Worthington district, for example, students will spend six weeks taking reading lessons in the classroom, plus three weeks of homework. A similar class in the Dublin district spans nearly the entire summer break, and the district started a six-day class to help parents teach their children. The Westerville school district is sending teachers to apartment buildings and homes to offer reading help.

Schools across Ohio are taking similar steps, said Julie Davis, executive director of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators.

Starting this coming school year, third-graders will take a new state reading test. If the students fail the test, state law will require schools to hold them back in third grade the following school year. Lawmakers enacted the law last year to make sure schools identify and help students who struggle to read.